strengthen communities’ abilities to deal with poverty and disadvantage.

Priority Areas

For the next three years this program will particularly prioritise the needs of asylum seekers living in the Australian community. Up to 15% of the total available grants pool will be available specifically for organisations and groups supporting and working with asylum seekers. Activities to be supported include health, education and employment initiatives, housing support and material aid, social connectedness and community engagement programs, and individual advocacy and legal support.

The program will continue to support initiatives targeting the following groups:

communities experiencing social and economic exclusion with particular emphasis on Indigenous Australians,

asylum seekers and refugees, and people living in isolated rural and remote areas of Australia,

children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who lack the opportunity to improve their wellbeing.

The program will support small, discrete projects that meet the needs of a community rather than supplementary funding for large projects. A small, discrete project will be considered to have a total budget of up to $50,000.

The Poverty and Disadvantage Small Grants Program accepts applications on an ongoing basis, with no specific closing dates.

Timelines

Please allow three months from the submission date of your application to be notified of its outcome. Applicants will be notified via the email address provided on your application form. Successful applicants will need to allow a further two weeks to receive the grant payment.

While applications are assessed at regular intervals please note that there is a longer gap between November of one year and February of the next. Should you be seeking funding for a project with a start date during January or February you should aim to have your application submitted by mid October of the previous year.

Eligibility for Organisations

Applications will be accepted for grants for charitable purposes from Australian incorporated organisations that have been endorsed by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) as Tax Concession Charities (TCC).

If your organisation is not endorsed as a TCC, but you are an Australian incorporated organisation, you may still be eligible to apply as long as we can be satisfied that the nature of your project is charitable.

Eligibility for Individuals

The Myer Foundation and Sidney Myer Fund do not provide grants directly to individuals or unincorporated bodies.

If you fall within this category, an application for funding may be made through a funding partner that has been endorsed by the ATO as a Tax Concession Charity. If your funding partner organisation is not endorsed as a TCC, but is an Australian incorporated organisation, you may still be eligible to apply as long as we can be satisfied that the nature of the project is charitable.

Small Grant Size

Grants are capped at $10,000 and are generally made for a 12 month period only. The requested amount may be part of a budget of up to $50,000.

Documentation and Support Materials

Please refer to the application form for information regarding the documentation you are required to supply with your submission.

Limitations

Submissions will not be accepted from organisations that have received a grant in the last 12 months from The Myer Foundation or Sidney Myer Fund.

Applications that have been previously unsuccessful cannot be resubmitted.

Submissions will not be accepted from organisations that have not successfully acquitted previous grants.

Only one submission can be considered per applicant. This includes those submitted to another funding area of The Myer Foundation or the Sidney Myer Fund. Exceptions are made when multiple applications are received from universities and other large organisations where they represent different faculties, departments or schools, and the proposals are unrelated.

Please refer to the FAQs section of the website for further information on our funding exclusions and eligibility.